2 Seconds is 2 Long

One hundred and seven Texas children did not return to school at the end of last summer as a result of fatal drowning. On average, for every fatal drowning there are another 8 nonfatal drownings in the United States. Of those additional 850 Texas children who suffered nonfatal drowning injury, over half resulted in some form of brain injury because of lack of oxygen from drowning.

Two thousand four hundred adults fatally drowned in the United States last year. In 2016, Texas led the country in total adult fatal drownings losing 234 souls, or almost 10% of the total US fatalities. Nonfatal adult drownings in the state of Texas swelled to over one thousand families who continue to bear the scars of water-related traumas.

AATC is pleased to partner with The Fort Worth Drowning Prevention Coalition (FWDPC), whose mission is to prevent both fatal and nonfatal drownings in the Fort Worth area and beyond. Our first venture places focus on the children of Union Gospel Mission. We will be bringing drowning prevention classes and water safety education to them. The UGM families will have an opportunity to participate in classes designed to equip non-swimmers with lifesaving skills and to educate adults on topics of water safety. May classes will be offered at the Downtown YMCA, in the evening, and are open to participants 3 to 103 years old. June and July classes are also available at area community pools. Participants who complete drowning prevention classes will be given a completion certificate, a Coast-Guard approved life jacket and an opportunity to sign up for additional low-cost learn-to-swim lessons.

Additionally, FWDPC and the Downtown YMCA have offered to bring their services to AATC property members. The program caters to the residents of property members by scheduling water safety sessions at the site rather than a community pool or the YMCA facility pool. For more information please go to: www.fwdpc.org.

The FWDPC is a volunteer-driven grassroots community coalition focused on the safety of north Texans in and around water. Every drowning is preventable. Together we can prevent the tragedy of drowning. They need your help both on deck and in the water. If you have one evening or a week of evenings to volunteer, they need your help. For more information on how to volunteer please email: fwdpcvolunteers@gmail.com.

Bob Duff, Behr Paint, is AATC’s Community Service Chair. For more information on any of AATC’s Community Service Initiatives, contact Gayla McCown at 817-616-0355 or email her at gmccown@aatcnet.org.